From the Research
Diagnosis of Bullous Maculopathy
- Bullous maculopathy is a non-specific reaction of the posterior pole of the eye, characterized by the concentric dispersion of pigment due to interference with the function of the retinal pigment epithelium 1
- The site of the primary process may be the bipolar cell layer, the receptor cell layer, or the retinal pigment epithelium, and can be determined using electrodiagnostic techniques and color vision testing 1
- Bull's eye maculopathy can be associated with hereditary hemochromatosis, a condition characterized by iron overload, and can present with symmetric bull's eye maculopathy, photoreceptor loss, and retinal pigment epithelium transmission defects 2
Treatment of Bullous Maculopathy
- There is no specific treatment mentioned in the studies for bullous maculopathy, but treatment for related conditions such as age-related macular degeneration includes vitamin supplementation for dry age-related macular degeneration and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors for neovascular age-related macular degeneration 3
- Current studies are focused on new therapies, including new anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, antibody against sphingosine-1-phosphate, anti-platelet-derived growth factor, gene therapy, and RNA interference 3
- In cases of bullous keratopathy, possible treatments include topical hypertonic agents, bandage contact lenses, superficial anterior corneal surgical procedures, or penetrating full thickness or endothelial keratoplasty 4